This invention relates generally to artificial bait used in fishing and more particularly concerns baits intended to be fished by casting.
Two key parameters of effective bait casting are distance and accuracy and, consequently, ultimate casting performance is limited by the weight and surface area of the bait to be cast. That is, the lighter the weight and the greater the surface area of the bait cast, the greater impact air resistance will have upon the distance and accuracy of the cast. This problem is, of course, further compounded by meteorological conditions such as wind velocity and moisture content in the air.
While increased weight and reduced surface area enhance the casting characteristics of a bait, such features also have a negative effect on the operation of the bait on the surface of or in the water. Lacking a countervailing force, a heavier bait of lesser surface area tends to sink more rapidly and is more likely to sink to bottom, thus diminishing the tantalizing quality of the bait.
In compromising these considerations to achieve acceptable results, fishermen generally use weights to increase casting distance and accuracy as well as to cause the bait to sink and use floats to counter the weight so as to restrict the level to which or speed at which the bait will sink.
This counterbalancing of weights and floats results in a relatively complex array of tackle combinations which take time to rig and produce less than desired results in terms of bait simulation in the water. Most significantly, in situations where the angler desires for the bait to fall from the surface to the bottom at a very slow rate of descent so as to tantalize a fish at any depth therebetween into striking the bait, the counterbalanced relationship is so sensitive that minimal variations in any component prevent achievement of the desired effect. That is, should the average density of the entire rig be less than the average density of water, the rig as a whole must float, though the bait can reach a depth limited by its mechanical connection within the rig. On the other hand, if the average density of the rig significantly exceeds the density of water, the rig as a whole is going to sink at a more than desirable rate of descent. Thus, in compensating or modifying the rig to achieve desirable casting distance and accuracy in given individual situations, it is virtually impossible for the angler to maintain the appropriate counterbalanced relationship to achieve very low rates of descent.
It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide an artificial bait which, in combination with a hook, sinks at relatively low rates of descent. It is also an object of this invention to provide an artificial bait which, in combination with a hook, sinks at relatively low rates of descent without use of a separate flotation device. Another object of the present invention is to provide an artificial bait of absorbent material which substantially homogeneously exhibits an average density at least slightly less than that of water. A further object of this invention is to provide an artificial bait exhibiting slow descent characteristics while facilitating accuracy and distance in casting.